Our children — all children, deserve high art and high quality literature. How important is it for children to see not only themselves but the world around them accurately in the stories they read and are read to them? At The English Schoolhouse we believe that so much of a child’s beliefs not only about the world, but themselves, is shaped by the imagery and stories they are exposed to from an early age and throughout childhood. We’re pleased to share our eighth title from our boutique publishing house, Fatou and the Kora.

Fatou and the Kora is a modern West African fairy tale set in Dakar, Senegal. Fatou, a young Senegalese girl, resides in a region where it is thought by many that the kora, or the African harp, is an instrument that is not to be played by girls. Fatou follows her instinct and discovers a generational gift within herself, while also teaching her father an unexpected lesson.

Add ones we’ve missed in the comments 🙂

“Here at Bino and Fino, we are always on the look out for things that will help nurture young minds. Finding children’s books for kids that have a black girl as the protagonist or the main character can be tricky. This is because of the fact that there is very little visibility of black & brown kids in the world of children’s books. This is changing with campaigns such as We Need Diverse Books calling for more diversity in children’s books.

If you like any of these books and are looking for similar titles check out Tutu’s Storybook’s. They specialize in selling a wide variety of Pan African children’s books that celebrate black heritage & diversity for early readers.”

While mainstream media continues to spotlight negative attention towards people of color, very little is said about true artists in various fields. Artists that collaborate or self-motivate have always been seen as the underdogs to those who take the easy way out. These days, not many artists of color connect with each other, feeling that the industries they work for only have room for a few candidates to succeed. Dynamic duo, Devon Taylor and Daphne Lee, are making an impact in the art world today and are defying odds.

An accomplished Drummer, Actor and Model, Devon Taylor, hailing from Camden, NJ, uses his “inspiration of all art forms” to excel his expression. Currently playing for vocal artist, Nadjah Nicole, Devon spreads his passion by collaborating with artists locally and around the globe. Devon has a need to just make music and teach others on really telling a story. “I am all about art expression” says Taylor, “the story you tell when you’re on stage and when you are able to mentally and emotionally connect with your audience.” Devon even has his own production company where people can request his connections of talent for various events. Just recently, he connected with an NAACP ACT-SO regional gold medalist alumni (like himself), Daphne Lee, who is also a New Jersey native.

A professional dancer who is currently a ballerina for Collage Dance Collective in Memphis, TN, Daphne has always made a statement through other mediums of art via music, speaking engagements, and visual art, but most recently her photographs. “Ever since college, photographers connected with me not only as a dancer, but a ballerina of color to spread awareness of the lack of black female ballet dancers not being exposed in the media”. Even though her resumes extends from working with Beyonce, to being part of Ailey 2, Daphne mentions that there is a bigger purpose to it all.

Devon and Daphne collaborated with Memphis Photographer Ziggy Mack (@fomoloop) to demonstrate that art serves a huge purpose. Music and dance go hand in hand and with these NJ Artist, they want to continue to educate, inspire and mentor future artists of color to collaborate. They are always looking for a platform to connect with other musicians, photographers and visual artists. Follow Daphne and Devon on their careers on all social media platforms and watch their passion create pathways for the next generation.

Jahlaam (a mesh of her name Khadijah Salaam) is an electric soul artist born in Philadelphia, PA but bred and based in Atlanta, GA. Her earliest memory of herself singing was when she was four; a Whitney Houston song played around her childhood home and she happily sang along. Throughout her grade school years she would catch the ears of her family and especially her dad who encouraged her to sing often as he enlisted her in several talent shows. In elementary school she played flute and was apart of the school choir. She even got to sing “The Greatest Love of All” alongside some of her peers for her elementary school graduation. She continued attending chorus up until high school. Around this time she began writing but perceived her lyrics to be too amateur. After high school Jahlaam would pursue a college degree & placed making music on the back burner. However she could not keep away the urge for making music. Eventually she returned to creating what she loves most and began churning out lyrics upon lyrics while seeking out music that would fit her vibes. So far, Jahlaam has performed at several Atlanta venues and had a performance set during the 2015 A3C Festival. Currently, she is actively pursuing a music career and building her brand as an artist.